Funded Programs Conferences

Alzheimer\'s Disease Beyond Abeta Investigator(s): Andrew Robertson, PhD Institution(s): Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology

Summary:
This proposal is to support the 2010 Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology, entitled "Alzheimer's Disease Beyond Abeta". By 2010, many of the clinical trials presently underway targeting Abeta will have been completed or far enough along the pathway that we will have a better understanding of the benefit and limitations of this approach. This leads us to consider what the next targets are that will need to be addressed to fully treat and prevent Alzheimer's disease. The objective of this meeting is therefore to stimulate and promote a discussion beyond Abeta as a key factor and therapeutic target in Alzheimer's disease. This objective will be equally important whether therapeutic approaches targeting Abeta are successful or not, to either complement and expand successful Abeta therapies or to initiate a paradigm shift. In particular, the organizers plan to discuss the generation of alternative models to study Alzheimer's disease, and highlight several exciting areas of research including the role of synaptic dysfunction, neuronal regeneration, the immune system, and protein degradation in Alzheimer's disease.

The 2nd World Congress on Controversies in Neurology - CONy Investigator(s): Amos Korczyn, MD Tel Aviv University

Summary:
There are many controversies in Alzheimer's disease research and practice which are difficult to resolve. The format of this conference deals with novel discoveries and clinical techniques that are as yet unsubstantiated and aims to generate discussion and debate. This congress is a highly effective way to educate scientists and practitioners to understand and apply new research findings to clinical practice in Alzheimer's disease.

Bridging Cultures: Improving Evaluation and Treatment of Cognitive Disorders Investigator(s): Bruce L. Miller, MD Institution(s): Memory and Aging Center, UC San Francisco

Summary:
This conference represents an important step towards improving cross-cultural evaluations of cognitive disorders in underserved populations. It is primarily aimed at informing clinical investigators and physicians of the various new approaches to evaluating patients from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and will provide outreach to caregivers and laypersons in the community. The conference will bring together physicians, scientists, community leaders and the interested lay public, to advance the understanding of cross-cultural issues surrounding cognitive disorders. ISOA support will provide funding for travel for an investigator to present on novel therapeutic treatment strategies that are currently in development.

Concurrent 2009 Keystone Symposia meetings entitled: Neurodegenerative Diseases: New Molecular Mechanisms and Axonal Connections: Molecular Cues for Development and Regeneration Investigator(s): Andrew Robertson, PhD Institution(s): Keystone Symposia on Molecular and Cellular Biology

Summary:
This Keystone symposium combines the meeting on Neurodegenerative Diseases with The meeting on Axonal Connections: Molecular Cues for Development and Regeneration. These concurrent meetings will bring together researchers in the fields of axon development, degeneration and regeneration and promote exchange of ideas, information and collaboration among these fields. These meetings will also train young scientists in the questions, approaches, and opportunities in these exciting and topical research areas and promote scientific and translational goals of understanding the basic mechanisms for the formation of neural circuits and for developing new therapeutic strategies for repair. Holding these meetings jointly, including a common keynote address and three shared plenary sessions plus considerable shared unstructured time, provides a unique opportunity for bridging an in-depth discussion of neurological disease pathogenesis with a high-level discourse on the molecular and physiological mechanisms governing the normal biology of axon growth and regeneration. The target audience for this symposium is researchers investigating mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), triple repeat diseases, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and researchers focused on molecular mechanisms for axon development and regeneration.

10th International Symposium on the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease Investigator(s): Kenneth Rockwood, MD, FRCPC Institution(s): Geriatric Medicine Research Unit

Summary:
Dr. Kenneth Rockwood is applying for funding for the 10th International Symposium on the Treatment of Alzheimer\'s Disease. This interdisciplinary forum aims to facilitate discussion on existing models of disease treatment effects, phenomenological studies of treatment, and mathematical models of disease expression and its modification by pharmacotherapy. Several publications have resulted from previous symposia.